For many, Halloween is one of the most popular times. The frights, costumes, carvings, and ghost stories abound. Speaking of stories, so many myths and legends exist out there that we thought it would be fun to wander through some of them and bring you 10 fun facts about Halloween; some you may know, and some may be just the thing to start a conversation at the next Halloween gathering you go to this year. Boo!

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1. Origins

The consensus looks to point to Ireland and the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain as the origin of Halloween, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts.

2. Jack-o-lanterns

The first Jack O’Lanterns were actually made from turnips, rutabagas, gourds, potatoes, and beets.  By placing an ember in them, the Celts believed they would ward off evil spirits.

3. Stingy Jack

And why carve these root vegetables?  Well, in a nutshell, the legend goes back hundreds of years to the tale of Stingy Jack.  Jack was a ne’er-do-well who made a deal with the devil and ended up caught in the whelm between heaven and hell for eternity.  In this darkness, he needed light to roam.  The devil tossed him an ember from the fires from hell, and the rest is history.  Read the full story and more on the jack-o-lantern –  HERE

4. Fruit or Vegetable?

Many will agree to disagree on this one, but the botanical wisdom places the pumpkin in the fruit category. Officially fruits contain the ripened ovary of a plant, enclosing the seed or seeds. They also tend to grow from the flowers of the plants.  The tomato and avocado were also popularly known as vegetables but technically are fruit as well.  In 2006, New Hampshire declared that its state fruit is the pumpkin. Live Free or Die!

5. Trick or Treat?

The tradition has definitely morphed over the years, from warding off evil spirits to collecting treats!  This year the National Retail Federation estimates that consumers will spend $2.6 billion dollars on Halloween candy as a part of the total $9 billion in total sales this year, including $3.2 billion on costumes, $2.7 billion on decorations, and $400 million on greeting cards.

6. I got a rock!

Trick or treating became a certified national pop culture phenomenon in 1951 when the iconic Charles Shultz Peanuts cartoon It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown debuted.  This holiday classic featured Linus on his neverending quest to see the Great Pumpkin, the television debut of Lucy’s snatching the football away from Charlie Brown schtick, Snoopy as the World War 1 flying ace, and the trick or treating and Halloween party, where Charlie Brown’s treats turned out always to be a rock, and Snoopy smooches Lucy so that she screams for iodine and disinfectant!

7. Now, that’s a trick!

The famous magician Harry Houdini died on October 31, 1926.  There are several tellings of how this happened, however, History.com seems to have the best timeline for the event.  Seems as though a series of uncalculated events led to his demise, including a stunt accident that left Houdini injured, an unwise and unplanned moment of proving a point, and internal bleeding that all led to his hospitalization; however, perhaps it was Houdini himself subconsciously let go on Halloween!

8. Historic Snapshot

There is probably no better way to know what is hot and what is not than by opening your door on Halloween.  Costumes have always been a snapshot of the time.  Originally, costumes typically represented a more spooky genre, but during the mid-20th century, when boxed costumes became widely purchased, the themes turned a bit more commercial, in the 70’s the trend for adults to dress up became more widespread, and the Nixon mask was a popular pick.  As time has marched on, we’ve run through The Mutant Turtles, Star Wars, Power Rangers, Princesses, Star Wars (again), Spider-Man, and this year’s most googled costume pick:  Pennywise the Clown from IT.

9. Michael Myers

Arguably the best Halloween horror film, Halloween is as iconic to the holiday as The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, although perhaps a tad more macabre!  This super low-budget flick came from a screenplay titled The Babysitter Murders.  Budgetary constraints forced them to massage the script to occur on one evening, and what better night showcase horror?  Although there are many fun facts about the film, one of my favorites goes back to the budget. They had to use the cheapest mask they could find for the character Michael Meyers, which turned out to be a William Shatner Star Trek mask. It was stretched and stripped of the eyebrows and sideburns and then painted white.  Shatner initially didn’t know the mask was in his likeness, but when he found out years later, he said he was honored.

10. Samhainophobia

Finally, If all of this has you scared, then perhaps you are suffering from Samhainophobia, the fear of Halloween, or the fear of the festival of the dead. The term Samhainophobia originates from ‘Samhain’, meaning summer’s end. The Samhain festival was celebrated by the Celts to mark the transition between summer and winter.